Mehdi Nafti Bio Send To Friend  

Nafti sealed a permanent switch to Birmingham City at the end of June 2005 from Racing Santander after impressing on loan in the second half of the 2004/05 season.

The midfielder made his Birmingham debut in a 2-0 defeat at Manchester United and went on play ten games before the season's end.

A cruciate knee ligament injury in pre-season led Nafti to miss the vast majority of the 2005/06 season, though he did return for the 2006/07 season where he played a key role in Birmingham's promotion back to the Premiership making 32 appearances during the campaign.

Although born in France, the midfielder is a Tunisia international and was a member of the side which won the African Cup of Nations as hosts in 2004.

He was brought into the Tunisian squad when Henri Michel was appointed as coach as a late injury replacement at the Nations Cup finals in Mali in January 2002, where he also made his debut.

The player was then named in the squad for the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.

Nafti began his career at hometown club Toulouse before moving to Spain in 1999. He made 91 league appearances in his final three seasons with Racing after initially making his debut against Barcelona.

This hard working midfielder took his game to a new level while in Spanish football.

Nafti was sent off in his final match for the club, a 2-1 defeat by Malaga.

Prior to signing his permanent three-year contact at Birmingham, Nafti was on international duty at the Confederations Cup in Germany, where he started the games against the hosts and also Australia.